Niquelândia is

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in northern

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

state,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is the largest municipality in the state in area and is an important producer of minerals.

Geography

Niquelândia is 370 km from the state capital, Goiânia, and has an elevation of 650 meters above sea level. The average annual temperature is 32 °C, and the climate is tropical humid. The municipality is crossed by highways BR-414 and GO-080, GO-237 e GO-327, besides the various municipal roads that make up a total of 12,000 kilometers. Highway connections with

Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

are made by GO-080 /

Nerópolis Nerópolis () is a municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil. Location The municipality is part of the metropolitan region of Goiânia, which is 25 kilometers to the west. It is nationally known as the city of garlic and sweets. Strategically ...

/ São Francisco de Goiás / BR-153 / Jaraguá / GO-080 / Goianésia / Barro Alto / GO-342 / BR-080 / BR-153 /

Uruaçu Uruaçu is a city and municipality in north Goiás state, Brazil. Geography Uruaçu is located north of Anápolis and Goiânia on the important interstate highway BR-153, which links Brasília to Belém. It is 269 km. from Goiânia and 244 ...

/ GO-237. Municipal boundaries are with Água Fria de Goiás,

Alto Paraíso de Goiás Alto Paraíso de Goiás, usually referred to as Alto Paraíso, is a municipality located in the northeastern region of the state of Goiás, Brazil. The city is located in the Microregion of Chapada dos Veadeiros, Chapada dos Veadeiros and, since 20 ...

, Barro Alto, Campinaçu, Colinas do Sul, Mimoso de Goiás,

Santa Rita do Novo Destino Santa Rita do Novo Destino is a municipality in northeastern Goiás state, Brazil. Location Santa Rita do Novo Destino is 82 km. east of Ceres and 15 km. north of Goianésia. Highway connections from Goiânia are made by taking GO-0 ...

, São João d'Aliança,

and Vila Propício. The size of the municipal area compared to countries ranks it below

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and above

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Economy

As the name of the city implies (Niquelândia can be translated as "Nickeland"), it is the national capital of

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

. It has one of the largest nickel reserves in the world, which are exploited by two mining companies: Companhia Níquel Tocantins—CNT, belonging to the Votorantim group -, and Codemin - to Anglo American. Although mining is practically all done for nickel, there are also more than 120 types of mineral, such as gold, crystal, platinum, copper, mica, iron, manganese, diamonds, quartz, marble, cobalt, asbestos and even uranium. The nickel mines bring needed jobs but also cause serious problem to the health of the inhabitants. The ovens to heat the raw material operate at one thousand degrees Celsius and highly toxic ammonia is used in the process. This mixture damages the skin, kidneys, the digestive and the respiratory tract. Mining is not the only economic activity in the region with cattle raising (250,000 head in 2006), agriculture, small transformation industries, commerce, and public administration employing large segments of the population. In 2007 there were 4 banking agencies: CEF - Banco do Brasil S.A. - Banco Itaú S.A. - Banco ABN AMRO Real S.A (Agosto/2007).

Agricultural Census (2006)

*Farms: 2,168 *Planted area: 15,345 hectares *Natural Pasture: 53,300 hectares *Woodland and Forest: 181,389 hectares *Persons occupied related to the farm owner: 4,543 *Persons occupied not related to the farm owner: 839 *Main crops: soybeans (20,000 hectares), corn (5,000 hectares), and rice (2,000 hectares).

History

Niquelândia is one of the oldest towns in the state of Goiás. It was settled shortly after the arrival of the Portuguese bandeirantes, with the news of the discovery of gold. Niquelândia is one of the oldest municipalities in Goiás. The town was founded in 1735 as São José do Tocantins. In 1938, the German miner Freimund Brockes was panhandling in the region for gold and discovered the second largest nickel deposit in the world. This discovery attracted miners from all over Brazil and the little town grew rapidly. In 1943 the city changed its name to Niquelândia.

Tourism

The most important touristic site near the town is the artificial lake of Serra da Mesa. It was created with the construction of the Serra da Mesa Dam, in Minaçu, at the end of the nineties. It is formed by the joining of the Maranhão, Tocantinzinho and Bagagem rivers. Serra da Mesa has one of the largest concentrations of fresh water in the country, with a surface of 1,784 km². With 57% of its area in the municipality of Niquelândia, it has reached a width of 22 km. in the rainy season.

Health and education

*Hospitals: 5 with 167 beds (2007) *Schools: 40 with 14,365 students (2006) *Higher education: Unidade Universitária de UEG *Infant mortality rate in 2000: 26.40 *Literacy rate in 2000: 84.4%

Index of Economic Development (Seplan 2001)

*39/246 municipalities. Se
Seplan

Index of Social Development (Seplan 2000)

*147/246 municipalities. Se

References

External links

O Portal de Niquelandia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niquelandia Municipalities in Goiás